Talent Acquisition ManagerPosition DescriptionThe Talent Acquisition Manager is responsible for leading the organization's talent acquisition strategy to attract, assess, and hire high-quality talent aligned with current and future workforce needs. This role partners closely with business leaders, HR Business Partners, and hiring managers to understand talent requirements, develop effective sourcing and recruiting strategies, and ensure consistent and high-quality hiring experience.
The Talent Acquisition Manager leads the Talent Acquisition team and is accountable for recruiting effectiveness, operational excellence, hiring outcomes, and continuous improvement of the organization's recruiting processes and practices. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution and is expected to remain actively engaged in critical, complex, and high-priority searches.
ResponsibilitiesTalent Acquisition Strategy & Leadership- Develop talent acquisition strategies aligned with organizational priorities, workforce plans, and anticipated talent needs.
- Partner with HR and business leadership to understand current and future hiring requirements and translate workforce needs into actionable recruiting strategies.
- Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to recruiters and other Talent Acquisition team members.
- Establish clear expectations, priorities, service levels, and performance standards for the Talent Acquisition function.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders regarding recruiting strategy, market conditions, talent availability, and hiring decisions.
- Identify emerging talent risks and proactively recommend solutions.
- Build manager capability and accountability for developing talent, including career conversations, development planning, coaching, feedback, and identifying stretch opportunities for employees.
Recruiting & Talent Delivery- Oversee full-cycle recruiting activities across assigned business areas, including sourcing, screening, interviewing, selection, offer development, and pre-employment activities.
- Maintain hands-on ownership of critical, difficult-to-fill, confidential, or leadership searches as needed.
- Develop sourcing strategies that build strong pipelines for current and future workforce needs.
- Ensure recruiting resources are appropriately prioritized based on business needs and organizational objectives.
- Partner with hiring managers to establish clear position requirements, candidate profiles, interview strategies, and selection criteria.
- Drive timely hiring decisions while maintaining appropriate standards for candidate quality.
Recruiting Operations & Process Improvement- Evaluate and continuously improve recruiting processes to increase efficiency, consistency, scalability, and candidate quality.
- Establish standardized recruiting practices while maintaining flexibility for unique or specialized talent needs.
- Ensure appropriate use and optimization of applicant tracking systems, recruiting technology, assessments, and sourcing tools.
- Identify opportunities to automate or streamline administrative recruiting activities.
- Maintain accurate recruiting documentation and ensure compliance with applicable employment laws, regulations, and company policies.
- Partner with HR Operations and other stakeholders to ensure an effective transition from candidate selection through onboarding.
Recruiting Analytics & Performance- Develop, monitor, and communicate key Talent Acquisition metrics and hiring trends.
- Use recruiting data to identify opportunities, diagnose challenges, and improve hiring outcomes.
- Establish performance expectations and measurable goals for the Talent Acquisition team.
- Track metrics such as:
- Time to fill and time to hire
- Hiring volume
- Offer acceptance rate
- Source effectiveness
- Candidate pipeline health
- Recruiting funnel conversion
- Hiring manager satisfaction
- Candidate experience
- Agency utilization and recruiting costs
- Provide leadership with regular insights regarding recruiting performance, talent availability, hiring risks, and workforce trends.
Candidate Experience & Employer Brand- Ensure candidates receive professional, responsive, and consistent experience throughout the recruiting process.
- Partner with internal stakeholders to strengthen the organization's employer brand and employee value proposition.
- Develop strategies to attract talent through targeted outreach, professional networks, universities, industry organizations, events, and other talent communities.
- Ensure recruiting practices effectively communicate the organization's mission, culture, opportunities, and expectations.
Team Leadership & Development- Lead, coach, develop, and evaluate Talent Acquisition team members.
- Establish workload priorities and ensure recruiting resources are aligned with the highest-priority business needs.
- Build recruiter capability in sourcing, candidate assessment, hiring manager consultation, negotiation, and market intelligence.
- Foster a culture of accountability, responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Conduct regular performance discussions and provide ongoing coaching and feedback.
QualificationsRequired- Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
- 10+ years of progressive talent acquisition, recruiting, or related HR experience.
- 2+ years of experience leading, supervising, or providing functional leadership to recruiting professionals.
- Demonstrated experience managing full-cycle recruiting across multiple functions and levels.
- Demonstrated experience building or significantly transforming talent management or development programs, rather than solely administering established programs.
- Strong experience partnering directly with hiring managers and senior business leaders.
- Demonstrated ability to develop sourcing strategies for difficult-to-fill or highly specialized positions.
- Experience using applicant tracking systems and recruiting technologies.
- Strong understanding of recruiting metrics, reporting, and data-driven decision-making.
- Working knowledge of applicable employment laws and recruiting compliance requirements.
- Strong communication, consultation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
Preferred- Experience recruiting within aerospace, defense, engineering, manufacturing, technology, or another highly technical environment.
- Experience supporting both exempt and non-exempt/hourly hiring.
- Experience recruiting engineering, technical, manufacturing, operations, and corporate talent.
- Experience supporting rapid growth, organizational transformation, acquisitions, or changing workforce requirements.
- Experience implementing or improving applicant tracking systems, recruiting processes, or Talent Acquisition operating models.
Leadership ExpectationsThe Talent Acquisition Manager is expected to operate as both a people leader and talent advisor. Success in this role requires the ability to move between strategic workforce discussions and day-to-day recruiting execution, challenge hiring assumptions when appropriate, establish accountability with stakeholders, and ensure the Talent Acquisition function consistently delivers against business needs.
The successful candidate will bring a solutions-oriented mindset, strong sense of urgency, and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment where priorities and workforce requirements may change quickly.
